Musk Surprises All With New Tesla Roadster In Truck Launch Event

Tesla’s much-hyped semi-truck was not the only announcement that CEO Elon Musk made on Thursday. Musk took everyone by surprise and kept them spell bound when he launched the second generation of Roadster, claiming it to be the fastest production car ever made.

Image Source: YouTube/Tesla (screenshot)

New Tesla Roadster – powerful and efficient

According to Musk, the new Tesla Roadster could go from zero to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, from zero to 100 mph in 4.2 seconds, and cover a quarter mile in 8.9 seconds.

“These are all world records,” Musk said.

Musk stated that the new Tesla Roadster packs a 200 KWH battery pack and a 620-mile range per charge. If claims made by Tesla’s CEO are true, then the Roadster is going to be a record-breaker as there is no other hot rod in the market to clock that range on a single charge. The car has three motors, one in front and the other two in the back, all-wheel drive and torque steering.

“The point of doing this is to give a hardcore smackdown to gasoline cars,” Musk said. “It’ll feel like a steam engine with a side of quiche.”

The base price of the new Tesla Roadster is set at $200,000, and those looking to book in advance will have to pay upfront $50,000. The first 1,000 cars, however, will cost $250,000 each, paid in full upfront.

Impressive specs, but can Tesla deliver?

About the truck, Musk stated that it is Tesla’s next effort to present the economy with an alternative to fossil fuel, following the success of its electric cars, power storage and solar roofs.

Musk claims that the semi-truck would outperform diesel trucks on “economics” as it has a better drag coefficient than a supercar. Further, if the driver has gotten into some medical emergency, the truck will stop on its own and would call for help in case the driver is not responding to the truck’s prompts, Musk said. The Tesla CEO also said that the truck’s low center-of-gravity helps in good handling and roll-over prevention, and its high-end technology makes jack-knifing impossible.

Musk also promised more features for the truck to ensure that the total cost of ownership would be 20% less per mile than diesel trucks. Some of those interesting features are superior uphill performance, faster acceleration, a 500-mile range at maximum weight and highway speed and “thermonuclear explosion-proof glass” in the windshield.

Some, however, are skeptical stating that the truck would be nothing but an expensive distraction for Tesla, which is burning cash, has yet to post an annual profit, and is already in “manufacturing hell.”

In an email to Reuters, Karl Brauer, executive publisher of the Kelley Blue Book and Autotrader, said the specs of both of the new vehicles would put them at the front of their respective segments, provided “they can be produced and sold as part of a sustainable business plan. So far that final element has eluded Tesla Motors, which makes it difficult to see these vehicles as more than ‘what if’ concept cars.”

On Thursday, Tesla shares closed up 0.39% at $312.50. Year to date, the stock is up over 46%, while in the last one month, it is down almost 11%.

Author: Aman JainAman is MBA (Finance) with an experience on both Marketing and Finance side. He has worked as a Risk Analyst for AIR Worldwide, and is currently leading VeRa FinServ, a Financial Research firm. Favorite pastimes include watching science fiction movies, reviewing tech gadgets, playing PC games and cricket. - Email him at amanjain@valuewalk.com